Cairo to host meeting between Palestinian rivals

GAZA, Jan. 14 — The Egyptian capital of Cairo will host a meeting between rival Palestinian factions Wednesday to draw up mechanisms for implementing recent understandings related to Palestinian national reconciliation, a Hamas official said Monday.

The meeting will be supplemental to the summit last week between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah and Khaled Mashaal of Hamas, said the official, Salah al-Bardaweel.

Abbas and Mashaal have agreed to start implementing the results and articles of previous discussions and deals, aiming at ending the Palestinian split, especially the political one between the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip and the Fatah-ruled West Bank.

Al-Bardaweel noted that Egypt sponsors the efforts to bridge the gap between the Palestinian rivals, noting that the mood in the two factions is “positive and encouraging” for reconciliation.

The discussions over reconciliation resumed in November, after the end of an eight-day Israeli military operation against Gaza and the UN upgrade of the Palestinian status to a non-member observer state, an achievement that Fatah took credit for.

Hamas demands that the reconciliation should be implemented as a package. Sources said Egyptian pressure on the Islamic movement resulted in allowing the Central Elections Commission to start updating the voter registration in Gaza.